•November 27, 2019•
By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

As readers might surmise from reading the news about Illinois, our state is arguably embedded in a political culture (patterns of behavior) of corruption (unearned personal gain at public expense). This doesn’t mean that everyone in the Prairie State is corrupt, but that there is a learned disposition among too many of us that if we have a chance to take advantage of government, we might as well do so, as everyone else would do so in the same situation.
I have some ideas that could transform our disposition, but as with any cultural change, it will take time. After all, ingrained habits are hard to break.
Political cultures vary. For example, uncontrollably nice Iowans would scrunch their noses in horror at the bribery and abuse of government power that we brush off as just the way too many Illinois politicians operate.
Corruption has been part of our culture since political candidates on the Illinois frontier treated neighbors to rum and vittles in return for their votes. Later, as recently arrived, hyphenated-Americans in Chicago were shunned from legitimate business by the WASPs who arrived earlier, many turned to politics for careers in which they could do well while doing good.
Things have indeed gotten better on the corruption front in Illinois.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.